This invention is in the field of agricultural seeding equipment and in particular devices for attachment to cultivator shanks for opening furrows and depositing seed and fertilizer therein.
Seeding apparatuses in general comprise a shank, a furrow opener at the bottom of the shank, and a delivery tube for delivering product such as seed or fertilizer to the furrow created by the furrow opener. Depending on the system used, the delivery tube can be connected directly to a hollow furrow opener, or to a boot located generally behind the furrow opener which receives the product and directs same into the furrow.
Air-seeders commonly include a seeding implement which is essentially a cultivator, with conventional cultivator shanks. Various ground engaging tools are attached to the shank to act as the furrow opener for forming a furrow.
Conventional cultivator shovels attached to the shank, which cultivate a strip of soil, are commonly used to form the furrow, with the delivery tube connected to a boot attached to the back of the shank which directs the product into the furrow. Such a furrow opening cultivator shovel attached to a shank with a boot attached to the back of the shank is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,398 to Froc and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,801 to Matchnee et al.
Alternatively, the furrow opener can be integrated with the boot into a single unit that forms the furrow and receives product from the delivery tube and directs same through a channel in the opener into the furrow, as illustrated in Canadian Patent Number 1,287,516 to the present inventor Cruson. The illustrated furrow opener is a narrow opener commonly referred to as a knife.
The deeper the furrow the more fuel is required to pull the seeder, so it is desirable that the furrow openers operate only as deep as necessary, preferably at the desired product depth, with the product deposited in the bottom of he furrow. As the furrow opener passes through the soil, soil falls back into the furrow behind it. It is thus desirable to deposit the product as close to the furrow opener as possible, especially with the narrow openers used in minimum tillage and no-till operations. In this way the product is able to fall to the bottom of the furrow before it is partially filled with soil falling in behind the furrow opener.
Canadian Patent Number 2,135,117, again to Cruson, illustrates the delivery tube curving upward under the lower end of the shank to deposit product close behind the furrow opener. This upward curve is evident in the rear tube furrow opener arrangements presently available. The upward curve under the shank can cause plugging of the product flowing through the tube, especially in damp and humid conditions and at high application rates.
Front tube furrow openers are available where the tube is attached to the furrow opener in front of the shank to avoid the upward curve and deposit product directly behind the furrow opening member as is desired. The tube is attached to these openers in a more or less vertical orientation such that the tube and shank are quite far apart. The result is poor trash clearance as straw and crop residue first contact the tube and pass around it only to then encounter the shank. The trash does not flow smoothly, as same is set in motion by the tube and flows around and behind the tube, then is set into different motion by contact with the shank. A smooth flow of is trash is inhibited and straw and residue often hangs up on the apparatus.
Double-shoot furrow openers are becoming popular as they allow fertilizer to be deposited in a band at a deeper location in the soil, with the seed generally above and to one or both sides. Seed and fertilizer are thus separated, allowing application of higher fertilizer rates without damage to the seed. Double shooting requires two delivery tubes attached to separate input openings.
In furrow openers where the tubes are mounted behind the shank, the devices become quite complex, requiring the above mentioned curve in the first channel, as well as an output opening from the second channel to the side and rearward of the output opening of the first channel. As a result these double-shoot openers extend a substantial distance behind the shank, increasing the leverage that can be exerted on the opener and cause damage.
The shank is most commonly operative to pivot backwards and up against a spring or trip when hitting a stone or other obstruction, and then move forward and down, very abruptly, when the obstruction has passed. The geometry of the system is such that the double-shoot openers extending rearward are thereby slammed into the ground, sometimes causing damage.
Double shoot furrow openers are also known where both tubes are mounted in front of the shank. These extend a substantial distance in front of the shank, increasing leverage on the opener.
One advantage of the cultivator shank implement is that it allows mounting of different furrow openers, such as the shovel or the knife, for different conditions as the farmer sees fit. Knock-on adapters are available which allow the operator to very quickly remove and replace furrow openers. With presently available systems, however, the boot attached to the back of the shank for distributing product when the shovel opener is used must be removed to allow room to attach the delivery tube to the knife opener. The changeover could be accomplished much quicker if the boot could be left attached to the shank when either opener was being used.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a furrow opener for attachment to a cultivator shank wherein a delivery tube is attached to the opener in front of the shank and in proximity to the shank to facilitate the smooth flow of crop residue.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a furrow opener where the front and side walls are formed from a single piece of material, thus providing an economical and simple furrow opener.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a furrow opener for double shooting where a second delivery tube is attached behind the shank.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a furrow opener which is attachable to the shank by a knock-on adapter, and allows for quicker changing from one opener style to another.
The invention provides, in one aspect, a furrow opener for attachment to a cultivator shank, the shank having a front side facing in an operating travel direction and an opposite rear side, the furrow opener comprising a channel member defining a channel having an input opening at a top end of the channel member, and an output opening in a lower portion of the channel member, wherein the input opening is adapted for operative connection to a delivery tube for receiving seed or fertilizer; wherein a bottom end of the channel member is adapted to form a furrow and the output opening of the channel is located to deliver seed or fertilizer into the furrow; and a shank bracket attached to a rear portion of the channel member, above the output opening, and adapted for releasable attachment of the channel member to the front side of the shank such that the input opening is in proximity to the shank.
The invention provides, in a second aspect, a furrow opening apparatus comprising a cultivator shank adapted for attachment to an implement frame for movement along the ground in an operating travel direction, the shank having a front side facing in an operating travel direction and an opposite rear side; a furrow opener releasably attached to the front side of the shank, the furrow opener comprising a channel member defining a channel having an input opening at a top end of the channel member in proximity to the shank, and an output opening in a lower portion of the channel member; and wherein a bottom end of the channel member is adapted to form a furrow and the output opening of the channel is located to deliver seed or fertilizer into the furrow; and a delivery tube operatively connected to the input opening on the front side of the shank for delivering seed or fertilizer to the furrow opener.
In a third aspect the invention provides a furrow opener for attachment to a cultivator shank, the shank having a front side facing in an operating travel direction and an opposite rear side, the furrow opener comprising: a channel member defining a channel having a front input opening at a top end of the channel member, and a front output opening in a lower portion of the channel member; a rear boot defining a rear channel having a rear input opening at a top end of the rear boot member, and a rear output opening in a lower portion of the rear boot member; wherein the front and rear input openings are adapted for operative connection to front and rear delivery tubes for receiving and directing product; wherein a bottom end of the apparatus is adapted to form a furrow and at least the front output opening is located to deliver product into the furrow; and a shank bracket attached to a rear portion of the front channel member, in front of the rear boot and above the front output opening, and adapted for releasable attachment to the front side of the shank such that the front input opening is located in front of a shank location and the rear input opening is behind the shank location.
With the delivery tube connected in front of the shank, the channel can direct product to the desired output location directly behind the furrow forming member with a slight downward curve, if any, instead of an upward curve, virtually eliminating plugging. The input end is in proximity to the shank, so that the delivery tube, when attached, follows the shank and facilitates the flow of trash around the delivery tube and shank.
For double shooting, a furrow opener with one delivery tube in front of the shank and one behind is much more compact, extending no farther behind or ahead of the shank than a single shoot opener and reducing the leverage that can be exerted on the opener.
The front tube furrow opener can be attached to the shank by a knock-on adapter to facilitate switching from one opener type to another. For example, the front tube opener could be a knock-on knife with an integral channel for product in the furrow, and the alternate opener a knock-on shovel with a separate boot for depositing product attached by bolts to the rear of the shank. With the present invention, the delivery tube is connected to the knife in front of the shank allowing the boot on the back of the shank to remain in place when the openers are switched. The delivery tube is simply moved from the boot to the knife opener, and back again when the shovel is used.